Putting one foot in front of the other isn't always easy

Marathon on

Last Sunday afternoon, after my DNF, I thought I’d never make another marathon attempt. I believed the distance wasn’t for me, and I’d stick to half marathons since I’m in love with those 13.1 miles.

But I also wanted redemption. Even if 26.2 wasn’t my best distance, I still put in 14 weeks of training and knew I was more than capable of finishing the race.

I had a decision to make. A mere 13 days after my DNF, I was registered for another marathon.

Do I try for 26.2 or drop down to the half?

The half seemed tempting. I’ve run it the past 2 years and enjoy the course. But I always have these big PR dreams for this race, and I’ve never PR’d there. I really didn’t want that pressure.

I didn’t make any hasty decisions. Instead, I wanted to see how my stomach did this week. Now that I’ve found GU, could my stomach handle that better? Would my new low dairy, lower fiber diet keep my stomach settled? Did the acupuncture I received twice this week (I’ll do a separate post on this) cure me?

I felt so confident at the Lululemon party, that I decided to make it my goal to finish a marathon by October 30.

But there was only one way to know if I was really feeling better: do a long run. Longer than I have done recently.

My most recent 18 miler was 4 weeks ago and 20 was 6 weeks ago. So, honestly, I also wanted to go long to see if my legs could still handle distance.

I set my sights on 16 miles. Why 16? Because it’s longer than the twelves I’ve been doing but not crazy long like 18-20. And I wanted to see how my stomach did taking in GU every 5 miles.

Now, it is not smart to run 16 miles 8 days before a marathon. But I needed to do it. I’d be a wreck at the start line next Saturday if I didn’t do this test run.

The plan was to take it slower than normal in hopes that my legs would recover quickly.

I felt pretty amazing during the run. I had slight cramping, but my stomach handled GU wonderfully. In fact, I looked forward to my little 5 mile reward packs of icing 🙂

16 miles at 9:05 pace

And my legs felt spectacular. I can’t believe I doubted them. My hamstrings felt tight around 14.5, but no big deal. I actually ran the last 5 miles faster than the first 5. And this was only my second over 15 mile long run that I needed no walk breaks!

So game on. I’ll be running a marathon a week from today 🙂

Note: if I don’t feel well again next week, I will drop down to the half or just be a spectator.

Now I must figure out how to quickly recover and taper all over again… in 7 days. I’m thinking lots of time off my feet this weekend, ice, naps, and only short easy runs this week.

I’m so excited for you! You will get your redemption and then some! I have been relying on gu’s for the past year and they have yet to fail me. However, last Sunday during my marathon sometime near the end I felt like I couldn’t stomach a whole pack of it. So I took half and kept running. After a mile or so I was able to down the rest of it. Sometimes I almost gag trying to take the whole thing all at once. So, if you need to just “sip” on it. That way you get the energy, carbs, and calories that you need without puking or worse.

Have a great “taper week”! You’ll do great! Eat plain food and get LOTS of sleep.

You should just go out and run for the experience with your friends and leave any thoughts of pace and time out of it. You will have a blast and remember why you run in the first place — it can be purely euphoric. I get bogged down in pace and time myself, and I think the pressure I’m feeling to always improve sometimes causes my digestive system to seize up.
Good luck!

Yay!!! I’m so happy your run felt good yesterday! I was nervous FOR you all afternoon!

I’m glad to hear your stomach took the GU ok. I only use GU on my long runs and it definitely gives you a good kick! And I find myself looking forward to my next GU-break, like you said. Just curious — why did you pick every 5 miles to have one? Because that’s about every 45 minutes, or was there another reason?

I think it’s a great sign that your legs felt so good. There’s nothing better you can do this week than rest! Keep your legs loose and stay off those feet. I’ll be commiserating with you on the taper-craziness. 😉

Whenever I workout more than an hour I eat sharkies. So that would mean I should Gu every 7ish mi. But I usually supplement sharkies with gatorade. Gatorade still makes me gag and it’s not coming anywhere near my mouth. So 5 miles seemed like a good number for me, and it worked 🙂
I know it varies so much though. I know some marathoners take it every 4 mi, and some who take it every 8. My hubby does it every hour of exercise on the dot but also drinks gatorade.

I’m so happy for you!!! I was really hoping you would run the marathon… finishing will feel so rewarding and any time you run will be a PR considering last year you didn’t train nearly as well as this year. Do whats best for you as I’ve said before… but I secretly am hoping you run the full!!! I wish I could be there to cheer for you and run with you on the course- I’m the best running spectator : )

My trainer ran a marathon 2 weeks ago in 3:05 and tapered only for a week, because he’s insane like that. I think different tapers work for different runners, so I guess you’re gonna be allright. Best of wishes!

Awesome! If I had one week to “taper” I think I would do 1 or 2 short but quality workouts (some kind of tempo runs at marathon pace) and otherwise take a lot of rest days that week, especially after running 16 mile. Good luck, Jen!!

Wahoo!! I think you made a great decisions. You will be that much more determined to make this one great. The week before the race is so so important in regards to nutrition. I take advantage of carb loading and hydrating like its my job. Good Luck!!!

Congrats on a successful long run! I totally understand the need to get through one last long run before taking on the 26.2 miles next week…and I’m glad the Gu worked! I couldn’t believe how great it tasted during the marathon. I don’t know what I was afraid of, but I plan to stock up on those yummy little packets.

Enjoy a week of rest. I’m sure your body and you mind need it. Good luck! And if you need to vent…tweet away!

This is great, and so encouraging! I love your attitude and non-defeated attitude. So many people could learn that from you! You’ll be great in this upcoming marathon. Glad to hear you’re feeling better.

stretch A LOT after your short, qulity runs. and if you don’t already have a foam roller get one stat and spend a lot of time on it before and after the marathon. it has been a life saver as i train for my second marathon which is in 8 days!

I would say take it easy this week, but throw in one run where you hit your marathon pace for about 2 miles (a dress rehearsal if you will – maybe with a 2 mile warm up and a mile cool down). Any other runs, just take them really slowly (like 25% slower than the pace you expect to run).

That’s great Jen! I’m with you on needing to do one more long run just to mentally prepare yourself. I had started doubting myself after my 16 mile run two weeks ago hurt so bad, but a successful 18 made me feel like I could totally do it. Of course I’m no marathoner, but I think the napping will totally help. I credit my successful 18 miles with the excessive amount of sleep I got the night before. Do you think maybe extra carbs might also help? I know carb loading the day before is best, but I wonder if some extra carbs throughout the next few days may help also. Maybe/Maybe not?